New Chairman Lee Jung-hyun of the ruling Saenuri Party indicates his catchphrase: “A New Start Based on Innovation and Harmony at an event he participated after he took office. (Photo: Saenuri Party)

Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, a three-time lawmaker, was elected the new party chairman on Aug. 9. The ruling Saenuri Party’s election of Lee, a close confidant of President Park Geun-hye, is expected to usher a new honeymoon era between the party and Cheong Wa Dae ahead of the presidential election slated for next year.

It is the first time in the history of the conservative party that a representative from the Jeolla provinces, a stronghold for liberals, has taken office as the chairman of the party. Lee caused a sensation in the ruling party when he grabbed a surprise win in a 2014 by-election for a constituency in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do. He was reelected by the constituency in the April general elections. Lee is also touted as a close confidant of President Park, as he served as President Park’ chief secretary for political affairs between March and June 2013 and her chief secretary for public relations between June 2013 and June 2014. 

Newly inaugurated Chairman Lee has a daunting task on his shoulders: how to put behind a severe confrontation between pro-Park Geun-hye and non-Park factions of the conservative party over the rights to select candidates of the latest general elections under the ticket of the Saenuri Party, which led to a rout of the party and a shift in the political paradigm to a three-way structure among the Minju Party of Korea (MPK), Saenuri Party, and People’s Party. Lee is also charged with a mission winning the upcoming presidential election. Chances are high that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a possible presidential candidate, believed to be backed by President Park, will gain ground in the nomination race of the ruling party of the upcoming presidential election under the stewardship of Chairman Lee, analysts say. 

In an apparent move to alleviate an intraparty divide, new Chairman Lee said during his acceptance speech on the same day, “I declare that from now on no pro-Park or non-Park factions shall exist.” He pledged to reform the party structure and restore public confidence and help the party win the upcoming presidential election. 

Rep. Lee kicked off his job as party chairman on Aug. 10, calling for party members to fully back President Park’s policies. He made the remarks during a meeting following his visit to Seoul National Cemetery. 

Rep. Lee garnered a combined 44,421 votes, accounting for 40.9 percent of the total votes cast, according to the results from party members and delegates’ voting coupled with public polls taken during the convention of the party that took place on Aug 8. He topped the race by defeating Rep. Joo Ho-young, the sole non-Park faction candidate, who earned 31,946 votes, by 11.5 percent points. Rep. Lee Ju-young and Rep. Han Sun-kyo ranked third and fourth with 21,614 votes (19.9 percent) and 10,757 votes (9.9 percent), respectively.

Rep. Lee is the first chairman of the conservative party hailing from the Jeolla provinces. Jin Eu-jong, a native of Gochang, Jeollabuk-do, became the chairman of the then-ruling Democratic Justice Party under the Fifth Republic of President Chun Doo Hwan, but he was hand-picked by President Chun. 

Reps. Cho Won-jin, Lee Jang-woo, Kang Seok-ho, and Choi Yeon-hye were also elected as members of the Supreme Council, the governing body of the ruling party. Cho, Lee and Choi are believed to be loyal to President Park. Kang was the sole Supreme Council member hailing from the non-Park faction. The youth electoral college of those aged under 45 elected President Ryu Chang-soo of the Global Politics Research Institute as a Supreme Council member, allotted to the college. 

The election of the ruling party’s convention has reaffirmed President Park and pro-Park faction members’ influence over the party. It has not only contributed to partly helping the Pro-Park faction evade non-Park faction members’ demand to take responsibility for the rout in the latest general election, but also allowed the former to exercise an influence over the party until the upcoming presidential election, according to analysts. Such non-Park faction leaders as former Chairman Kim Moo-sung and former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon succeeded in fielding Rep. Joo as their unified candidate, but failed to overcome the pro-Park faction. 

President Park held a maiden luncheon meeting with newly elected party leaders, including Chairman Lee and already-elected floor leader Chung Jin-suk, in an amicable setting at the Cheong Wa Dae on Aug. 11. 

Following the meeting, President Park had a closed door meeting with Chairman Lee for 25 minutes. They exchanged conversations over such sensitive pending issues as presidential pardons and the direction of a new cabinet reshuffle, with President Park in an apparent open-minded manner.